How Unchallenged Character Flaws Fuel Addiction

Character is more than personality or attitude. Perhaps the most accurate description we’ve seen is, “Character is the manner in which you behave when no one’s watching”.

Many things contribute to who you are is at this point in time. All kind of situations are encountered and choices are made based on a variety of factors.

Some choices improve character and others take it down a notch. Let’s look at some of the character traits that could be serving to fuel your addiction.

Wet environment

Chances are, if you suffer from alcoholism or drug addiction, you were raised either in an environment where alcohol or drugs were used or there were no strong sanctions against such use.

If alcohol or drugs are perceived as an alternative to reality, or simply a way to have fun and relax, there’s a high probability of alcohol and drug use. When the increased tolerance kicks in, addiction invariably arises.

If you were raised in an environment where drugs and alcohol were abused, do not blame yourself. However, it’s also important not to hide from this fact. It may also be necessary to admit that your upbringing is a contributory factor to your own drug and alcohol use.

Genetic influence

Researchers studied mono-zygotic twins and found those males whose fathers suffered from alcoholism or drug addiction were likely to become addicts themselves.

Now that the backdrop is clear let’s get to what influences character development.

Distortions

If you are raised in a home affected by addiction or for that matter most any high-stress home, it’s likely you will have experienced situations that are difficult and even painful to process in your adulthood.

Below, we aim to summarise how you may feel about events you witnessed in your past that are likely to become subject to distortions.

Truth often gives way to falsehood.

Manipulation is used to gain control

Betrayal often occurs for personal gain

Secrets, many secrets

Anger without understanding

These are just a few things that happen that influence character development and the choices you make in adulthood. It’s likely you distort the truth merely because it serves as an effective coping mechanism. Again, it’s important not to blame yourself if you find yourself distorting facts as you find them.

Lack of truth telling

When the truth becomes an option rather than the norm it becomes very easy to use falsehood as a tool to further personal interest. When perceived positives result from falsehoods it really does seem like the ‘little white lie’ is not consequential.

The impact, however, is severe on your loved ones. This is because many of the falsehoods you promote are anything but ‘little’ and often the truth is obvious to everybody but yourself. Lying about your drinking, stealing money from loved ones and coving up your wrongdoings when under the influence of substances are notable examples.

Normally you may think the people who love you the most might be exempt from being targets of hurt. However, often the very people who care the most are also hurt the most by addiction.

Dysfunction

You might look at the word dysfunction and say, “I am functional. That doesn’t apply to me”. However, the truth is when you live in dysfunction it seems like that’s just the way things are supposed to work.

Think about these things and see if they function the way healthy families would do it:

Communication

Intimacy

Openness to each other

Honesty

Understanding each other

Effort to meet each other’s needs

Personal responsibility

When addiction is present, almost all of the above suffer immensely. We encourage you to self-evaluate yourself for each of the factors listed above. This will help you to appreciate the damage you are inflicting on your loved ones by continuing to use drugs and alcohol.

The good news is character flaws don’t have to have to be permanent. During support group meetings, one of the key components is to undergo self-evaluation. This helps you better understand the flaws that exist in your character and then to do something about it.

Character flaws came as a result of the choices you make, your environment and your genetics. If these flaws are to change it will take honesty, time and effort to examine them and make better choices.

Getting the right help if relapse occurs

It’s important to know that your character flaws do not have to be a death sentence. To discover a range of drug and alcohol rehab or outpatient therapy, contact us today on 0800 140 4690. During treatment, you will undergo self-evaluation to help you identify character flaws that are fuelling your addiction.

Our free helpline allows you to learn about suitable addiction treatment options in your local area. Most locations in the UK have access to a variety of treatment programmes.

When you contact us, we carry out a short assessment to help us recommend addiction treatment that’s well matched to your precise needs. If you have recently relapsed, time is of the essence. The longer you procrastinate on seeking treatment, the harder it will take to regain your recovery.

Contact us today to ensure your route to re-establishing your recovery is as straightforward as possible.

Boris is our editor-in-chief at Rehab 4 Addiction. He also covers a variety of topics relating to addiction and recovery. He began his career in investigative journalism in the 1990s but now he only writes and editors for the web.